The instant invention relates to accessories for vehicles and more particularly to a mounting assembly for mounting a mudflap on a vehicle.
In order for a mounting assembly for a mudflap to be effective, it must be rugged and durable enough to withstand prolonged exposure to the shocks and vibrations which are produced by various types of road conditions, but it must nevertheless be adapted for relatively inexpensive constructions in order to make it practical. Generally, the heretofore known mudflap mounting assemblies have comprised a mounting arm which is adapted to receive a mudflap thereon, and a flange or the like which is permanently attached to one end of the arm for mounting the assembly on the chassis or frame of a vehicle. It has been found, however, that the arms of mounting assemblies of this general type frequently bend or break after prolonged exposure to the shocks and vibrations which are created by road conditions. Specifically, it has been found that when mudflaps which are inherently relatively heavy are supported by mounting assemblies of this type, the arm portions of the mounting assemblies tend to break due to metal fatigue after prolonged use. Further, it has been found that in order to overcome this problem, it is necessary to make mounting assemblies of this type so rugged that they are heavy and expensive, and therefore impractical for many applications.
Over the years, a number of different types of mounting assemblies have been developed in order to overcome the problem of breakage due to prolonged exposure to shocks and vibrations, as well as to overcome various other problems which have been found to exist with mudflap mounting assemblies. In this regard, the U.S. patents to JEPSEN, U.S. Pat. No. 3,848,842, BETTS, Sr., U.S. Pat. No. 3,999,776, LEONARD et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,189,165, HANSON, U.S. Pat. No. 4,354,690, VAN DYKE, U.S. Pat. No. 4,421,333, and VERGE, U.S. Pat. No. 4,453,728, disclose a variety of different types of mudflap mounting assemblies which represent the closest prior art to the instant invention of which the applicant is aware. However, many of the devices disclosed in these references have relatively complicated constructions which make them expensive and impractical for most applications, and generally the devices disclosed in these references fail to solve the problem of providing a mudflap mounting assembly which is durable and also adapted for relatively inexpensive constructions.
The instant invention provides an effective mounting assembly for a mudflap which overcomes the problem of metal fatique experienced with many of the heretofore known mounting assemblies and which is also adapted for relatively inexpensive constructions. The mounting assembly of the instant invention comprises an elongated rigid bracket member which is adapted to receive a mudflap thereon, a pedestal member which is adapted to be mounted on a vehicle, a resilient pad means which overlies a portion of the pedestal member, and means for securing the bracket member on the pedestal member so that the pad means is compressed between the pedestal member and the bracket member. The bracket member is formed with a longitudinally extending inner surface thereon which defines a longitudinally extending channel therein. The pedestal member comprises a mounting plate or flange for securing it on a vehicle and an elongated pedestal element having an outer pedestal element surface thereon which is formed in a configuration which is preferably generally complimentary to the configuration of the channel in the bracket member. The pad means is received on the pedestal element, and the pedestal element is dimensioned to be received in the channel with the pad means on the outer pedestal element surface. The securing means of the mounting assembly is operative for securing the bracket member on the pedestal element so that when the pedestal element is received in the channel in the bracket member, the pad means is compressed between the pedestal element and the bracket member. Accordingly, when the pedestal member is mounted on the chassis or frame of a vehicle so that the bracket member extends outwardly in a generally horizontal disposition, it is not prone to breakage in the manner of the heretofore known mounting assemblies. In this regard, the pad means provides a cushion between the bracket member and the pedestal member which reduces metal fatigue in both the bracket member and the pedestal member. Further, because the pedestal element is received in the channel in the bracket member, when the mounting assembly is mounted on a vehicle so that the channel in the bracket member faces generally downwardly and the bracket member extends outwardly in a generally horizontal disposition adjacent a tire on the vehicle, the pedestal member firmly supports the bracket member in a manner which substantially prevents both vertical movement and front to rear movement of the bracket member with respect to the vehicle.
In the preferred embodiment of the mounting assembly of the instant invention, the bracket member comprises longitudinally extending first, second and third wall portions which cooperate to define an elongated longitudinally extending channel of generally rectangular sectional configuration in the bracket member. Further in the preferred embodiment, the pedestal member is formed so that the pedestal element has first, second and third longitudinally extending surfaces thereon which cooperate to define the outer pedestal element surface and which are oriented so that the first and third surfaces extend outwardly in slightly diverging relation from the second pedestal element surface, whereby the first, second and third pedestal element surfaces cooperate to define a generally trapezoidal sectional configuration in the pedestal element. Also in the preferred embodiment, the means for mounting the bracket member on the pedestal element is operable for securing the bracket member thereon along a single axis which intersects the second surfaces of the bracket member and the pedestal element and it operates by drawing the second surfaces of the bracket member and the pedestal element together to compress the pad means therebetween and to thereby also compress the pad means between the first surfaces of the pedestal element and the bracket member and the third surfaces of the pedestal element and the bracket member. Specifically, when the pedestal element is constructed so that the first and third pedestal element surfaces diverge outwardly slightly in their extents from the second pedestal element surface, and the securing means is applied to draw the second pedestal element and bracket member surfaces together, a first compression area is created between the second surfaces of the pedestal element and the bracket member, and two additional compression areas are created between the longitudinal edge portions of the first surfaces of the pedestal element and the bracket member and the longitudinal edge portions of the third surfaces of the pedestal element and the bracket member. As a result of these three compression areas and the fact that the securing means secures the bracket member to the pedestal element along a single axis which intersects the second surfaces of the pedestal element and the bracket member, when the mounting assembly is mounted on a vehicle the bracket member is firmly mounted but nevertheless at least slightly resiliently yieldable both vertically and laterally with respect to the pedestal element, and any shocks or vibrations which occur in the bracket member are dampened by the pad means to reduce the occurrence of metal fatigue in the pedestal member and the bracket member. However, because the pedestal member and the bracket member can be effectively constructed in relatively simple configurations, the mounting assembly of the instant invention is effectively adapted for relatively inexpensive constructions.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the instant invention to provide a durable mounting assembly for a mudflap which is nevertheless adapted for relatively inexpensive constructions.
Another object of the instant invention is to provide a mounting assembly for a mudflap which is not prone to excessive metal fatigue due to the adverse effects of vibrations and shocks caused by road conditions.